What drives my stories
I have read many hundreds of science fiction stories — from space operas like the Lensman series, to more serious work such as Rendezvous with Rama, Dragon's Egg, and Ringworld. They have all given me great pleasure.
Apart from a small select number of stories, I feel that human-alien contact is mostly poorly done. To borrow from the Polish author Stanisław Lem: communication is not just words. Lem would say communication requires:
- Shared sensory modalities
- If an alien perceives via neutrino flux, or gravitational gradients, or quantum entanglement patterns, our "language" is noise.
- Shared cognitive architecture
- If their thought is non-linear, non-symbolic, or distributed, our logic is irrelevant.
- Shared evolutionary pressures
- Meaning is shaped by survival. If their survival pressures differ radically, their "concepts" may not map to ours at all.
- Shared assumptions about agency
- Humans assume intentionality. Aliens may not have "intent" as we understand it.
- Shared metaphysics
- Even the idea of "communication" may be a human construct.
Lem's conclusion: the probability of meaningful communication is near zero unless the alien is already human-like. So I am trying to find interesting ways to explore the gap. Let me know where I have failed and where I have succeeded — whether you see this differently, or have a sharper framework. Send me feedback →